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More money, more mission, but also…more problems?

You’ve heard Travis say this time and time again.

“Money moves the mission”.

In this day and age, if you want to run a successful year-round camp business with multiple full-time staff, all while keeping camper fees reasonable, you likely need some financial support! Donations and grants are incredibly helpful, but if you can tap into a market that works for your local community or potential clients, it can be a great way to supplement your income and use that money to help improve your summer program.

That being said, the way you go about diversifying your income is WAY more complex than simply saying, “alright, we’re doing weddings!”. Without carefully assessing your facility, budget and staffing and local laws, you may be committing to a program that either doesn’t fit your mission or worse, ends up costing more resources than it brings in.

While there are a ton of great ideas out there, wouldn’t it be great to have a crew of seasoned Camp Directors out there who have tried this kind of thing before to guide you in this decision-making process?

…Well, if you’ve made it this far in this post…we all know that you know the answer to that question…

It’s the CampHacker Podcast!

To help Gab, Travis, Joe and Dan with some big-money brainstorming, we welcome friend and past guest of the Podcast, Jalisa Danhof from Camp Newaygo! Jalisa not only suggested this topic, but she brings some valuable experience to our panel. Camp Newaygo runs a ton of really unique events for their local community, facilitates multiple weddings a year and has recently begun their own catering business. We’re grateful to have Jalisa back to share her stories and best practices.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

Some things to consider BEFORE even thinking about diversifying your income

Programs our hosts tried that have been a big ol’ flop

Sources of income the panel have found to be a good, revenue-generating endeavour

Plenty of other ideas that may work for your camp

Do you have a great income-generating program at your camp? Tell us about it in the comments!

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

Travis: Connector bag (thanks, Gabz!) - BUBM Travel organizer for electronics cables and LCD projector cables.

Joe: Tickler File - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickler_file (Bonus Video by Joe - https://youtu.be/5ZCmCfy5eb4)

Jalisa: GwynnieBee - clothing rental

Dan: Adam Grant’s Instagram

Gabz: Video Teleprompter 3

Your Hosts:

Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - CampHacker.TV, Founder at Go Camp Pro

Joe Richards, Executive Director -Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

Gabrielle Ra